THE FOOD CULTURE PROJECT
EXPERIENCES
We create multi-sensory dining experiences, and offer hands-on, real life and online food literacy programs. With this, we build communities and meaningful, lasting exchange, dialogue and shared knowledge.
Experience dinners, thematic salons, table-talks and collaborations are all bookable and can be customized to your interest.
LOCATIONS
The locations are changing, may be in private homes, or smaller public spaces anywhere in the world, always integrating local food culture and regional produce.
FOOD
As your host, myself or invited chefs or food artists, create and serve either a dinner, luncheon, or brunch. Whichever it is, it will be self-cooked with high quality organic produce and accompanied by good wine, or a trendy non-alcoholic cocktail.
Experience dinner
The Five Tastes + The Five Senses
"We're born into this world only liking the taste of sweetness and umami and disliking bitterness. All of our responses — to creamy, meaty, citrus, herbal, floral or coffee — are actually learned by conditioning through exposure." — Charles Spence (excerpt from interview with Brain World, October 23, 2020)
Our sense of taste is remarkably complex. On the tongue, we can initially only detect five basic tastes: sweet (e.g. sugar), sour (e.g. lemon), salty (e.g. table salt), bitter (e.g. coffee) and umami (savory, e.g. meat or parmesan) – probably also fatty. Only in the brain are these combined into the many different flavors that we know. In the 1990s, scientists began to discover taste receptors – special proteins on the tongue that perceive these basic tastes. For sweetness there is a single receptor, while for bitterness there are about 25 different ones. This makes sense, because many poisonous substances taste bitter, and our body must be able to reliably detect them. The taste cells on the tongue are connected to nerve fibers that transmit the signals to the brain. Exactly how the brain then processes these signals into our taste experience is not yet fully understood. In this interactive experience dinner format, we explore together how we perceive the individual tastes and what memories they are linked to.
QUICK FACTS
an experience dinner with scientific mini-lectures · for min. 8 – max. 20 persons · neuro-cognitive science input · self awareness practice · fun and communal exchange
Experience dinner
Journey through Culinary Germany
"Love goes through the stomach" — German saying
German cuisine tells the story of a land shaped by geography, history, and cultural exchange. Long before modern Germany existed, diverse kingdoms and principalities in Central Europe created distinct regional food traditions, influenced by Roman legions, French armies, and merchants traveling ancient trade routes. Nestled at the heart of Europe and surrounded by nine neighboring countries, Germany's culinary identity reflects centuries of cultural intersection. From seasonal produce and regional specialties to the lasting impact of Turkish immigrants who brought us the beloved Döner Kebab, German food culture continues to evolve through shared traditions and innovation. The Cold War division created distinct Eastern and Western food cultures, while Italian trattorias and French haute cuisine left their marks on the national palate. Today, Germany celebrates both its rich heritage and exciting future—rediscovering heirloom recipes, embracing organic farming and wild herbs, and earning acclaim through world-class Michelin-starred restaurants that showcase refined German cuisine. This is a culinary journey—where tradition meets innovation, and every dish tells a story of the land, its people, and their shared history.
QUICK FACTS
a multi-course dinner traveling through the culinary regions of modern Germany · exquisite regional and seasonal menu, wine and beer pairing, accompanied with stories of the regions, recipes and history · min. 8 – max. 20 persons
Experience dinner
Finding Your Opus Magnum
"I must also have a dark side if I am to be whole." — C.G. Jung
This unique experience dinner guides guests to discover their true and authentic selves through a multi-sensory journey of transformation. The dinner unfolds through four alchemical stages: Black for Nigredo, White for Albedo, Yellow for Citrinitas, and Red for Rubedo. Upon completing all four phases, guests achieve the Opus Magnum—individuation—becoming GOLD. Through a sensory food experience, guests explore how alchemy, a widespread medieval practice, combined proto-scientific methods with mystical beliefs, primarily seeking to transform base metals into gold and create an elixir of immortality through understanding the four elements and the philosopher's stone. While alchemy developed important laboratory techniques and made genuine discoveries in metallurgy, it wasn't truly scientific due to its reliance on mystical beliefs and secret knowledge rather than empirical observation. Carl Jung later reinterpreted alchemy through a psychological lens, seeing its processes as metaphors for psychological transformation, where turning lead into gold symbolized the journey from unconscious to integrated consciousness. The practice ultimately declined during the Scientific Revolution as chemistry emerged as a proper science, though it left a lasting legacy both in chemical techniques and, through Jung's work, in psychological theory.
QUICK FACTS
an experience dinner exploring the 4 phases of alchemy, inspired by C.G. Jung · self exploration · communal exchange, learn about history and science · min. 8 – max. 20 persons
PAST EXPERIENCES
December 3, 2025
A Neuro-culinary Journey through Nature and the Future
with multi-sensory researcher & cognitive neuroscientist Aoife McGuinness, in collaboration with The Arts and Nature Social Club
Together with Aoife McGuinness, a multi-sensory researcher and cognitive neuroscientist, and in conversation with Magda Uribe (ANSC Board), we explored how our senses, memories, and the natural world intertwined, and what this meant for how we lived and our connection with food. Aoife brought a unique perspective at the crossroads of neuroscience, art, and sensory design. After years of applying neuroscience in industry and cultural research, from EEG and multi-sensory behavioral studies to the creation of sensory well-being environments. Kit Schulte, food experience explorer, chef, author, and founder of The Food Culture Project, created and curated the evening's immersive food experience, using aromas, textures, and settings to create a space for sensual discovery. This five-course dinner invited guests to sense, taste, and reflect on what a sustainable and bright future might feel like.
June 6, 2025, San Francisco · February 2025, Berlin
Finding Your Opus Magnum
Experience Dinner · photos: Nora Novak
Our Alchemy Experience dinner in San Francisco introduced our philosophy of science dinner salons. Guests were invited to a unique multi-sensory experience, journeying through the four alchemical stages—Nigredo (Black), Albedo (White), Citrinitas (Yellow), and Rubedo (Red)—to achieve the Opus Magnum, symbolizing personal transformation and becoming "GOLD." Through food, participants explored how alchemy blended proto-science with mysticism, seeking to turn base metals into gold and create an elixir of immortality. The dinner also highlighted Carl Jung's psychological interpretation of alchemy as a metaphor for inner growth, leaving a legacy in both chemistry and psychological theory.
March 2022 · Washington D.C.
Journey through Culinary Germany
German Embassy, Washington D.C., US
"Journey through Culinary Germany" was hosted by Dr. Emily Haber as a 7-8 course experience dinner showcasing modern German cuisine, as a cultural historical journey. Guests enjoyed dishes paired with wine and beer, while learning about Germany's culinary regions, history, and evolutionary transformations of traditional recipes.
2021–2022 · Book tour
German Food Culture in Context – A perspective on the past, present and future
Readings and lectures with tastings: June 2022, Goethe Institute, Oslo, Norway · September 2021, Goethe Institute, Boston, MA, US · September 2021, Atlanta Consulate General, Atlanta, US · September 2021, SF General Consulate, San Francisco, US
In my talk, I explored how food culture reflects history, societal connections, and our relationship with the land—all of which evolve due to geo-political, natural, and technological shifts. I highlighted how dishes like sauerkraut, kimchi, and cabbage rolls, though culturally unique, share common roots, and how studies reveal that most national crops originated elsewhere. While working on my cookbook, Modern German Food from a Berlin Kitchen, I reimagined traditional German dishes by focusing on vegetables, herbs, and foraged ingredients, blending old artisanal methods with contemporary trends. Through a 40-45 minute presentation with visuals, I invited the audience to question why German cuisine is still defined by stereotypes like schnitzel and bratwurst, and to envision a future where forgotten flavors and sustainable, plant-based cooking take center stage.
2015/2016 · Satellite Berlin
The Land of Cockaigne (Luilekkerland)
Artist: Christopher Winter
In medieval mythology, Cockaigne—also known as Cockayne—was an imaginary land of extreme luxury and ease, a place of endless plenty where physical comforts and pleasures were always within reach. It offered an escape from the harsh realities of medieval life, embodying the dreams of farmers and laborers alike. Inspired by the Brothers Grimm's Hansel and Gretel (1812), where the children encountered a witch's gingerbread house, our exhibition invited audiences to reflect on the contradictions of modern first-world societies. On the 1st of Advent, visitors were welcomed to explore The Land of Plenty through Christopher Winter's gingerbread house—a symbol of abundance, guilt, and the fear of loss that haunts our world. During the exhibition, Winter invited the audience to literally eat the house. The timed performance was recorded on film as viewers destroyed the house, and the footage was later displayed alongside the ruins, capturing the fleeting nature of plenty and the act of consumption.
